Pentagon IG: 52 felons got access to military installations

posted at 2:41 pm on September 18, 2013 by Ed Morrissey

How did a man with a history of run-ins with military and civilian police, including admitting to “hearing voices,” get clearance to access a military facility? A new report from the Pentagon’s Inspector General — based on an audit completed before the Navy Yard shooting — suggests that this is not an isolated incident. The IG audit found 52 felons who had access to military installations, including drug dealers and accused child molesters, in an indictment of the Department of Defense’s background-check operations:

A new report released by the Pentagon inspector general finds that felons have routine access to military bases throughout the nation.

According to CBS News, the report finds that 52 felons had access to military installations which put “military personnel dependents, civilians, and installations at an increased security risk.” The felons had access to these bases ranging from 62 to 1,035 days.

CBS News special correspondent John Miller reports that the felons who received access included “drug dealers” and “alleged child molesters.”

The Defense Department Inspector General found that one of the Navy’s security programs, which is more often used to review contractors who do not require security clearances, did not vet the workers well enough to eliminate the risks of allowing them access to Navy facilities.

The report states that the Navy Contractor Access Control System did “not effectively mitigate access control risks,” according to CBS News.

The most aggravating part of this report is John Miller’s revelation that checks aren’t including searches at NCIC or the national counterterrorism center that’s supposed to help us connect dots. Those are the first places a background check should engage. How many potential terror suspects might be working on these military installations? Do we know? After all, infiltrating military bases would be one of the obvious strategies to attack the US on our home soil, even discounting Nidal Hasan’s Fort Hood massacre. If we aren’t checking those databases to protect what might be some of the biggest potential targets for terrorist attacks, what are they checking?

52 out of how many who had access? One million? No system is perfect, there will be some who slip through the cracks. And what is meant by “access to military instillations?” Does that include going to an on base PX?

What should have happened, is when he called the Rhode Island police, they should have been able to commit to a mental hospital for a few days observation, just like when the Aurora, Colorado’s killer when his psychiatrist went to the police.

If we aren’t checking those databases to protect what might be some of the biggest potential targets for terrorist attacks, what are they checking?

Silly Ed, dont you know?? They’re checking for knuckle dragging, Constitution-loving, racist, cruel, bomb-throwing, gun-toting Tea Party members in red states, who according to OFA/IRS/MSM are the greatest threat to this country.

The shooter wasn’t a felon, and he had access to the base and building as a requirement for his duties. He should have been detained and his company notified about his behavior in Rhode Island, though.

Big deal, felon is pretty broad net to cast. If they served their time what is the big deal? Are they saying a convicted felon who empties trash cans is a threat? They are not giving clearances to them. Everyone who has done damage at military installations weren’t felons.

Has anyone asked the question, “What kind of treatment was he receiving from the VA?”

It has been my experience, that the VA is one of the most disorganized, incompetent, bureaucratic failure-agencies in Government. I’d bet a shiny nickel, some over-worked VA-referred therapist, without benefit of any screening for this cat, handed him a fistful of scripts, and said, “Good Luck, see you in six months.”

Anyone in the media wanna look into that one? Or stop by any random VA Medical Treatment Facility?

I notice this whole story in general is getting quiet pretty fast.

can’t have a black, crazy, veteran, bad-guy examined too closely… and God forbid we make anyone other than gun manufacturers responsible for death and unhappiness in the world.

One day we will find out in a horrible, tragic way and we will have to make something else that will work like the military but called something else.

Right now there are too many mincing, comfort-obsessed, political, careerist panties. The replacement military will have to get rid of the mincing, comfort-obsessed, political, careerist panties in order for the military to become a place where reality is real and results more important than advertising.

Of course, the mincing, comfort-obsessed, political, careerist panties will never leave their current posts. They will continue whining for perks in the name of all the good they do for their country, just like those useless mincing, comfort-obsessed, political, careerist panties at DHS. In reality, they serve no real purpose.

After all, infiltrating military bases would be one of the obvious strategies to attack the US on our home soil, even discounting Nidal Hasan’s Fort Hood massacre. If we aren’t checking those databases to protect what might be some of the biggest potential targets for terrorist attacks, what are they checking?

They don’t necessarily run background checks on everyone who might work on a military base, especially on a temp basis.
There are a lot of people working on bases that do not have any DoD security clearance – they may be there for construction, facility/utility repairs, janitorial services, etc.

So how do they define “access” for these 52 felons? They may just have been uncleared construction workers being escorted by a cleared person, which means under constant supervision, merely for the duration of a particular piece of work.

Now if these felons were actually given a security clearance of some kind, then perhaps we have a real problem that needs to be solved.

Mental Health being the link that ties most of these incidents together but let’s not open that can of worms because then we would have to institutionalize the crazies and that would be awful. Let’s just let them live amongst us, there is no harm in that is there?

My hubs was an officer for 24 years, has been retired for 7. Our youngest just graduated from a military college where a contract was not mandatory. Dad, our friends both active duty and retired and I all discouraged a military career.

He whole heartedly agreed. It is nothing like it was 20 years ago. Nothing.

And don’t get me started on the VA or military health care. We lived under that “free” heathcare. We know just what to expect with Obamacare.

They way I interperted the report is that the 52 in question did have CAC cards issued giving them access to facilities. We do indeed have a problem.

D-fusit on September 18, 2013 at 3:26 PM

I haven’t seen the report, or much detail about yet, so that’s exactly the point I was getting to.
It’s one thing to bring in some temp construction workers or such under constant supervision of a cleared escort – another thing entirely to issue them a CAC and/or any kind of security clearance.

But others have made a good point with relevance to current events – Alexis was not a convicted felon, so he’ an entirely different sort of problem.

It gets worse than all of that. Mexican citizens in cars with Mexican license plate can enter FT Bliss. This is because of the Freedom Crossing shopping center on post. Civilians (Americans or Mexicans)with no real connection with the post are “supposed” to not to stray from the shopping center, but they do.

It gets worse than all of that. Mexican citizens in cars with Mexican license plate can enter FT Bliss. This is because of the Freedom Crossing shopping center on post. Civilians (Americans or Mexicans)with no real connection with the post are “supposed” to not to stray from the shopping center, but they do.

cibolo on September 18, 2013 at 3:44 PM

Like for a lot of bases, many military retirees get base access with a retiree ID card for no other reason than to shop at the commissary and BX/PX.
So what if a retiree becomes a convicted felon? Does he lose his retiree ID card and/or access to the base?

I don’t know if I would characterize 52 people as “routine” access. We have a couple of million folks working on our military bases and in military offices around the world – AD, reserve, guard, civilian, contractor – so 52 works out to about … 0.0026%

Yes, there are problems, but I wouldn’t call these 52 people an epidemic.

Okay gonna go on a limb here. I guess it would have to depend on the “felony”. I know people get Felonies pleaded down to mistimeter regularly. Does this make crimes any worse or less sever? This has to be on a case to case bases. A blanket thing is not fair, its only the easy way out.

Well, retirees have a connection with the post/military since they are retired military. A retiree can lose their benefits or be banned from an installation (these are very rare occasions).

But I’m not sure what your questions had to do with my original point about having Mexican-citizens in Mexican registered vehicles on post. Mexican vehicles are very difficult, if not impossible to track down if a crime is committed in the US by a person driving one. Especially when you are just minutes from crossing the border.

Also, just because someone has a criminal record, it shouldn’t necessarily make them unsuitable for access to a military base, right? As long as they declare it, it should be a judgement call from whoever’s hiring as to how significant it is.

Not sure about retention of privileges after a felony. I believe that unless it was a matter of national security, you get them back after prison. I have no idea about spouses with felonies.

We live in a town with an large in area Army post and a huge contractor presence. There is heightened gate security, of course. ID checks, car searches, bomb sniffing K-9s. They jack up little old ladies all the time.

On last night’s news, they interviewed a delivery person with face in shadow. He talked about how easy it was to go anywhere you wanted to on post pretty much undetected if you were able to get in the gate. Gee thanks. That’s something everyone needs to know about, Jerk.